Quick Asian Noodles For Dinner

Last night I decided to cook the quickest thing I had planned so there was time for me to lick on my new MacBook. The upside of getting my house burglarized, I suppose.

I mostly followed the recipe for Soba Noodles with Asian Greens and Slivers of Tofu from Quick Fix Vegetarian. Okay, so those aren’t soba noodles. Still, they’re Asian. The greens part is Chinese Broccoli, Gai Lan, I think. It’s kind of similar to rapini or broccoli rabe. Think really skinny broccoli that’s almost all leaf with little bitty florettes. Also, instead of baked Asian tofu, I used regular firm tofu that I browned up in a pan with a garlic clove and a sprinkle of tamari. Oh yeah, and I added half a red bell pepper. If you’ve cooked a bunch of stir fry type dishes, you know that the recipe is mostly just a suggestion. The more the make, the more comfortable you’ll be subbing in whatever you feel like. I ended up adding a lot more tamari than it called for, and then sprinked salt on top. I can be a salt fiend though. Really tasty though and had a high veg/noodle ratio so it was probably reasonably healthy as well.

Raw, Half Raw, Not Raw

What’s there to do in Knoxville? Sit in the hotel and blog apparently. I kid. I’m heading out in a bit to walk a nature trail by the river, stomp around a victorian cemetery and eat lunch. But first, the blogging.

fettucini alfreda

First, the raw. This is Fettuccine Alfreda from Vegan World Fusion Cuisine. I could drink gallons of this sauce. I want to pour it on everything.

cheezy broccoli rice noodles

So I did. This is just rice noodles & broccoli with the cheezy sauce from above. Half raw.

currant scones

And, while I was at the gym Thursday, I watched Ina Garten mix up a batch of scones full of butter and cream. I needed to make something to bring with me to Knoxville, so when I got home I made…scones! These are the Classic Currant Scones from the Joy of Vegan Baking. Decidedly NOT RAW. And NOT HEALTHY. But, REALLY FREAKIN GOOD. I think watching Ina’s technique helped me make these perfect. Mostly I paid attention to how the Earth Balance was cut in making sure it was still in little bitty chunks rather than creamed thoroughly. It can be a little tricky since it softens faster than butter. Especially now that it’s all warm out, and in if you’re me and haven’t turned on the air conditioning yet.